The black-metal band Liturgy suffers from what’s been written about it. No, not by the metal press that has looked askance at the Brooklyn band because of its inroads with the indie rock community. Liturgy’s worst critics are its supporters, from the overripe band bio accompanying Aesthethica, its debut release for stalwart experimental label Thrill Jockey, to the embarrassing assumptions in Pitchfork’s review of the new LP by a scribe who’s obviously never been to a black-metal concert. But forget the piles of hyperbolic and miscast words about the band and just listen to Liturgy’s music: It’s dense and intense transcendental black metal that explores philosophical themes. In other words, Liturgy’s music is very much “in the tradition” and should please longtime black metal fans as well as the Vampire Weekend kids who’ve wandered into the land of ice and snow demons. (Christopher Porter) With Dope Body at 8:30 p.m. at DC9.
MUSIC
John Maus has made a few recordings with outsider-popster Ariel Pink, and while to the unitiated his new record We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves can sound like a knock-off of his friend’s work, it still contains plenty of pleasures. “Quantum Leap” sounds like a chillwave spin on the erudite post-punk of Ultravox; other songs have a nice Italo disco feel. It’s all drenched in faux-nostalgic hiss, and Maus’ vocals fall somewhere between Bernard Sumner’s and Syd Barrett’s. Groovy, if that’s the kind of thing you’re into. 8:30 p.m. at Black Cat.
BOOKS
Polymathic economist, reviewer of local ethnic restaurants, and Marginal Utility blogger Tyler Cowen discusses his new book The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better. 7 p.m. at Politics & Prose. Free.
FILM
The documentary Höllentour, or Hell on Wheels, delves into the culture and athletic challenge of the Tour de France—-although it’s from 2004, before the sport became subject to wide scrutiny regarding doping. 6:30 p.m. at Goethe-Institut.
’80S APOLOGISTS
The Karate Kid at 4:30 p.m. at AFI Silver, Back to the Future Part II at 9:20 p.m. Get dinner in between!